Never Cross the Bar
by tktktk
Summary: An a/u fanfiction based on the fake trailer for (Never) Cross the Bar. "When Nick falls for the girl at the bar, he can't help it. And just as expected, it gets messy." Multi-Chapter. Rated M-but not all chapters have mature content. (Written with permission from video creator)
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1:

It wasn't a surprise for Nick when his girlfriend of six years told him it was over. He'd met Caroline in college, and while things had been good for a few years, their relationship was declining. First they fought all the time, and then slowly they stopped fighting. It was then that he knew it would be over soon. It's one thing to argue, because then at least you're both still trying. When it turns into awkward silence and blank stares is when you know it's over. He'd known this for almost a year. But Nick didn't want to be alone. Caroline and he were comfortable together, even if they weren't happy. Comfortable is hard to let go of.

Finally, she had been the one to "give in" first. She stopped by his apartment, which he shared with his best friends, Schmidt and Winston, and let him know the relationship was no more. He had nodded and said goodbye, accepting his lonely fate. When his roommates came home later, he told them. They were surprised he wasn't more upset. He wasn't happy about it, but he seemed numb. They figured he would freak out at some point, maybe he was in shock. That night, he retired early to his room and cried quietly. Mourning what could have been, more than what he had actually lost. He wondered if it might've been different had he tried harder or had a better job. He wondered how he would ever find another girl, when he felt this badly about himself.

Nick was a bartender, and had been since dropping out of law school a few years earlier. After his breakup, he picked up more shifts at his job to distract himself from the loneliness. It sometimes worked. He met a lot of people bar-tending. College kids, crazy drunks, sad drunks, loose women, not-so-loose women. The bar, Clyde's, brought in an array of types and sometimes he enjoyed serving these people, and sometimes he didn't. He often had to break up fights or console people, but mostly he liked to stay behind the bar. Sometimes his friends visited, and he would join them for drinks, a perk of working at a bar was free alcohol.

One day, a few months after his last talk with Caroline, he saw a new face appear in the bar. He had been serving a regular around 12 pm, when she walked in. She looked a bit frazzled, but he was immediately attracted to her. She had long dark hair with bangs framing her face and pretty, pale skin. She was wearing a yellow dress and glasses. She was beautiful. After looking around for a few seconds, she sat in a booth across from the door. Nick hadn't realized he had been staring and a quiet yell from his customer awoke him from his concentration.

"Hey!" said the customer. Nick looked at him and then down at the liquid he had been pouring, which was now overflowing out of the cup.

"Oh shit, sorry man," Nick got a rag to clean the spill, and poured some of the whiskey out of the cup so he could hand it to the guy. "Here you go."

"I'm not paying for that by the way," the customer said gruffly. Nick was a little perturbed by the man's assumption but he put on a smile. "No worries, I wouldn't charge you for my mistake." The customer huffed and went to sit at the other end of the bar. Nick frowned, "People are the worst," he said under his breath. He finished wiping the whiskey up off the bar and suddenly remembered what made it spill in the first place.

He glanced up to look at the mystery girl and saw she already had a glass of rose' in front of her. "I guess Big Bob took care of her..." he thought to himself. She sipped it slowly and pulled out her phone, texting someone. He went back to work, drying glasses and taking orders, but kept looking at her occasionally, wondering why she was at the bar so early by herself. He thought of going up to her and introducing himself, but pushed the thought out of his head quickly. She wouldn't be interested and it would only make him feel like a bigger loser.

Eventually, a very attractive and exotic looking woman came in and sat with her. He figured it was the person she had been texting, and after they both had a drink, they left. He didn't see them leave, but when he got back from the storage room- the booth was empty.

He got home around 5 pm, a perk of working an early shift, grabbed a beer from the fridge and sat down on the couch. He was still thinking about the mystery girl from the bar and didn't realize that a smile was playing on his lips while he stared at the tv. He wasn't really paying attention to what was on. His thoughts were focused on whether he would ever see her again. He was so engrossed in his fantasy, that he didn't notice Schmidt walk through the door and into the living room.

"Hey Nick." Schmidt said, walking past him to the kitchen. Schmidt stopped and retraced his steps backward to look at Nick, who hadn't replied. He was still staring off into space, except now his small smile had grown into a grin.

"Nick. Nick? Earth to Nicholas Miller!?" Schmidt waved his arm around and raised his voice until Nick snapped out of his reverie and looked up at him.

"Oh hey Schmidt."

"Oh hey Schmidt? What the hell dude? I haven't seen you smile in weeks and your sitting there grinning like the cheshire cat!" Schmidt looked at the tv, "What the hell are you watching?"

Nick looked at the tv, instead of the usual sports channel, he had apparently turned on some reality show where a large woman was screaming at children in leotards. "Oh...I don't know. I wasn't really paying attention." Nick grabbed the remote and turned to the game he meant to put on.

Schmidt sat down on the couch and looked at Nick, trying to figure out what was going on.

"Are you on drugs?"

"What? No Schmidt, I'm not on drugs."

"Cause while I don't support you picking up a habit like that, I would understand. I mean you're probably just coping with the whole Caroline thing still and..." Nick rolled his eyes.

"Did she call you? Did you see her? Is that what this is Nick? Are you two getting back together? Because we all know how that's gonna turn out and I will not stand by while..."

"Schmidt! Shut up!" Nick yelled, silencing him. "Jesus. I haven't talked to Caroline. I'm not on drugs. Can't a man smile without his friend jumping down his throat?"

"Well most men, yes, but when you pout everyday for months and then you suddenly start smiling like a mental patient who doesn't even realize he's watching Dance Moms, I get to ask questions."

"That's fair I guess." Nick shrugged and leaned back to start watching his team lose, like always.

"So what's up with you?" Nick looked back at Schmidt, who apparently wasn't going to go away without an answer.

"Nothing man. There was this girl at the bar today..."

"You met a woman at a bar during the day? You think that's a good idea?"

"Well I don't know. I didn't actually meet her so it doesn't matter. I just saw her sitting in a booth for a while until her friend came and they left." Schmidt thought for a moment, "Hmm. Do you think she'll come back?" Nick looked quizzically at Schmidt, wondering what his game here was.

"Uh. I don't know. I'd never seen her before and I didn't talk to her so I have no idea. Why?"

"Well I haven't seen you look remotely happy in a while and maybe if you see her again you won't be so goddamn sorrowful and angry all the time. You know, it really messes with my Chi."

Nick rolled his eyes again, "Ugh Schmidt. Your Chi? Whatever. Just let me watch the game." He frowned and stared back at the screen, arms crossed.

"See? My Chi's all over the place looking at you sulk. I have to go do something about this."

And with that, Schmidt got up and went to his room. Presumably to meditate or masturbate. Nick wasn't really sure what Chi meant, and he didn't want to find out. He stayed angry looking until he heard the door shut. He stretched out and sipped his beer. As his thoughts wondered back to the beautiful girl, he didn't notice his lips turn up and into another smile.

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**Thanks for reading! More to come in this story! Please review if you can! And please watch the video on youtube! It's amazing!**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

For a few days, he looked up every time the door opened, hoping it was her. It never was. Eventually he stopped hoping. He went back to serving drinks and stocking bottles, upset that he had ever thought she would come back. "I didn't even talk to her," He thought. "She probably just stopped here on the way to somewhere else. Why would she come back?"

Schmidt had noticed Nick's newfound happiness wane and disappear. When Winston asked why Nick was smiling, Schmidt had told him, and when the smile was gone they both figured that she hadn't come back. They tried to get Nick to go out with them, but he was always working or hiding in his room. He was surly with them and they gave up trying to help. Winston said it would pass, he just needed more time.

Almost two weeks after he had seen her in that yellow dress, Nick was working a Friday night shift. It was busy. The bar was filled with people and pretty loud. Nick was used to this, but his current state of mind made him regret ever taking the job. A few women had tried to flirt with him, and he almost didn't notice. He was mad at himself. Mad for screwing things up with Caroline, mad for never taking chances, mad for being such a fuck up that he was 30 years old with a shitty job and no relationship, and mad that he had been too much of a coward to talk to her when he had the chance.

He was serving a group of men, probably just out of college, who were typical "bros." They ordered cheap beer and Nick grabbed them from the cooler. He opened the last one and handed it to one of the guys. "Thanks dude," He said and walked away. Nick nodded and as he turned towards the door, he saw her.

His jaw fell at the sight, but he quickly closed it not wanting to look creepy. She looked different. Her hair was up in a loose bun, bangs and tendrils framing her face. Unlike the sort-of 50's looking dress he had seen her in before, tonight she was wearing a short black dress that formed to every curve of her body. She also wasn't wearing glasses, although he thought he liked her better with them on. He was awestruck and dumbfounded. How could this be the same woman? But he was sure it was.

Behind her was her friend. She was certainly beautiful too. She was wearing a tight red dress, with her brown hair down like it had been two weeks ago. Her skin was almost caramel. Nick could appreciate her attractiveness but if someone had offered him both women and told him to choose, it would be no contest. "Yeah, like either of them would be into you," He thought.

While his mystery girl went to find an open booth, her friend walked up to the bar. Nick almost had a panic attack. He looked around to see if he could find anyone else to take her order, but he was alone behind the bar. He reached for a glass and began drying it, trying to look nonchalant instead of anxious.

"Hey, can I have a glass of rose' and a manhattan?" She was looking around the bar, looking for what he didn't know. He uncorked the wine, poured it, and set it on the bar before making the manhattan. She had her back to the bar, still looking around. He put the drink down next to the other.

"Here you go. Do you want to open a tab?"

She turned to look at him, "Um. Yeah. That's fine." He turned to walk towards the register.

"Oh wait," She called after him. He turned back around.

"What's up?"

"Have you seen two guys, probably in suits? One's black, pretty tall, the other's white, blonde hair?"

He looked at her skeptically, "There's a lot of people here tonight...and you just described half of them."

She laughed, "Oh duh. Sorry. I just can't seem to find them. I'm sure they'll pop up. Thanks again." She smiled at him, took both drinks and walked away.

"Probably their dates. Of course Nick! Girls like her probably have guys lined up around the block." He thought and sighed deeply. "And they're probably not bartenders." He went back to work.

Nick tried to ignore his urge to stare at her, but kept peeking glances. Eventually, two men joined them, their "dates." He watched as pleasantries were shared. He watched closer as one of the men very obviously flirted with her, and she touched his arm. Nick felt jealousy rise in his chest, but he tried to push it away. He had never even talked to her, it wasn't appropriate to be jealous.

The night wore on and a little before 1 am, the group got up and left. He kicked himself for not introducing himself a few weeks ago. If he ever saw her again, she probably wouldn't be available. He got home around 3, following a few drinks for himself he had had with Big Bob. He went to his room and promptly fell asleep. It had been a long night.

A few days later he was working another night shift, but it was Tuesday so there was barely anyone in the bar. Schmidt and Winston came to see him and have a few drinks after work. Schmidt was looking a little angry when he sat down. "I can't work with these women anymore!" Schmidt said, "Lemon ball me."

"Lemon ball you? Really Schmidt? Is working with so many women, causing you to actually become a woman?" Winston said laughing. Nick joined him and Schmidt gave them a death stare of sorts.

"No. I am not turning into a woman, Winston. Lemon balls are a delicious beverage and I know how much you like fruity drinks, so don't even play!" Winston looked offended, but then silently agreed with him.

"Here's your lemon ball Schmidt." Nick said gruffly, "Winston?"

"Oh just a beer I guess." Nick opened a Hiesler and handed it to him. "What's going on at work Schmidt?" Winston said, hoping he would be less high strung tonight if he talked about it.

"Well, one of them is out for my job, I think my boss wants to sleep with me but I keep misreading the signals, and my other boss is pregnant and won't invite me to the baby shower!"

Nick chimed in, "Why do you want to go to a baby shower?"

"Because, Nicholas, I am all but ignored at the office, and if I can impress my boss by caring about her fetus, I'm going to do it!"

"Yuck, gross man." Nick said as he stuck out his tongue, illustrating his disgust. Winston just laughed and continued talking with Schmidt.

But Nick didn't hear another word because at that moment, she was back, and she was alone it seemed. She walked through the doors wearing a sweater and jeans and again he was amazed that she appeared to look good in anything. She sat near the bar, but at a booth...

"Nick?" Winston said, realizing he hadn't heard him. Nick looked back at his friends.

"Uh what...huh?"

"Did you just have a stroke or something?"

"No...it's her." He couldn't stop himself from saying it. Schmidt started to look around, "Who?"

Nick lowered his voice and pointed discreetly, "The girl I told you about." Winston and Schmidt both turned to look. "No! Don't look at her!" Nick scream-whispered. It was too late, but thankfully she didn't seem to notice.

Winston smiled, "Ah ha. Mystery girl. Well she's pretty cute. You gonna actually talk to her tonight?"

Nick sighed, "Probably not." Schmidt whipped his head back to Nick, "What? Why not? She's not here with a date. She's wearing jeans for God's sake. And it's a Tuesday, so if she's here drinking by herself, she's probably just as miserable as you!" Schmidt smiled, obviously proud of himself.

"Thanks Schmidt."

"Hey, I'm really gonna need you to step it up tonight. No sad sack Nick Miller. You like her, so just go talk to her." Nick was a little shocked at Schmidt's kindness in the moment.

"No, I can't. That breaks the first rule of bar-tending. Never cross the bar, cause once you cross the bar, it get messy."

Winston sighed, "He's still not over Caroline." Schmidt nodded in agreement.

"I'm over her. I just don't wanna mess up this perfectly nice girl's life."

Schmidt was done with Nick's stubbornness. "Fine, Nick. Whatever you say. I think Winston and I are going to shoot some hoops." He motioned his arms like he was shooting a basketball, but it looked hardly anything like a real shot. Winston looked surprised, "We are?"

Schmidt elbowed him, "Oh right...yeah...shooting hoops... See ya later Nick."

Schmidt and Winston got up. Nick barely noticed, his eyes were fixed on the girl, but he heard Winston's goodbye and replied, "See ya." without looking at them. Winston and Schmidt headed to the door.

"Were not really playing ball right now Schmidt, right? Cause you suck." Schmidt scoffed, "I do not suck! But no were aren't, I just think Nick might make the right decision if we're not pressuring him." Winston looked impressed, "Wow man, you can be nice sometimes? Who would a thought?" Schmidt glared at him as they walked out the door.

The night went on, and no one ever came to meet her. Nick busied himself with stocking, but couldn't stop thinking about talking to her. Pausing behind the bar, thinking over his options, he walked back and forth, ringing his hands and trying to psych himself up. After a few minutes of this dance, he crossed the threshold to the other side of the bar and began to walk towards her.

He walked to the booth and stood next to it. She looked up at him.

"I'm Nick." He said, eyes closed, fully expecting her to ask him to leave or something. He slowly opened his eyes, and she just smiled and motioned him to sit down. When he did, she looked at him and said, "I'm Jess."


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry this took so long to put up! And it's a pretty short chapter. So sorry for that as well! **

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Chapter 3:

Nick was nervous. Had he ever been this nervous before? He wasn't sure why all of a sudden he felt so sweaty. This girl didn't mean anything to him but he was so afraid of messing it up. He had never really been great with girls, but he wasn't terrible. He had a few girlfriends before college, and then he had gotten Caroline to date him for years, even if that had turned out terribly.

It had been about 30 seconds since either of them had spoken, Jess looked at Nick and he was looking at the table. When he came out of his thoughts, he realized that there had been an awkward silence. He looked up and coughed nervously.

"Um. Haha sorry. Jess was it?"

"Yeah, it's ok...so you're the bartender here right?" She asked, not condescendingly, which he appreciated.

"Yup. Well one of them. I've been here a lot lately though. I've seen you come in a few times."

"I just moved nearby a few weeks ago. I had to move out of my old place..." She looked sad all of a sudden and Nick wasn't sure why.

"Oh. Why'd you have to move out?" Nick felt like he was prying, "If you don't mind me asking..."

"No it's ok." She seemed to straighten herself up a bit, "I used to live with my boyfriend but I caught him cheating on me. 4 years...down the drain." She looked off into the distance and twirled her wine glass by them stem with the tips of her fingers. He could tell the hurt was still fresh on her mind.

Nick rubbed the back of his head, "Jeez. I'm sorry. I can't believe anyone would ever cheat on you..." It slipped out before he realized what he was saying. She looked back at him and smiled. He tried to cover, "Er...I mean I don't know you at all but...uh...I..." He trailed off, unable to say anything to regain his cool. The only thing he was thinking was, 'YOU'RE BEAUTIFUL,' but he didn't want to seem like a creep. He changed the subject instead, "I broke up with my girlfriend a few months ago, after 6 years of dating, so I kinda get how you feel. No one cheated though...it was just a terrible relationship."

She nodded and a few moments of more awkward silence followed.

"Well...on to better and brighter things I guess!" She said, and smiled half-heartedly lifting her wine glass up with a toast. Nick didn't have a drink so she tipped her glass as if she had clinked his imaginary glass, and brought it back to her lips to take a sip.

"Yeah. Better and brighter...You know...I'm not a very positive person, but I'd say it's probably better that you found out about your ex-boyfriend only 4 years in, rather than 20, you know?" He surprised himself with this, as normally, and especially recently, he had been acting and thinking like a suicidal Charlie Brown.

She looked at him very seriously, and then lifted her lips into a smile and laughed. He wasn't sure why, but soon he was chuckling along with her.

The laughter quieted and she said, "You're right. I mean, 4 years seems like a long time...and I'm not getting younger, but at least I didn't marry the guy! I guess I dodged a bullet."

He noticed she had finished her wine, "Do you want me to get you another? Or some water or something?" He was trying to be polite, not get her drunk.

"Sure...I'll have a rose'. Pink wine's kind of my thing. Are you gonna have something?"

"Well I'm at work..." He said, feigning seriousness.

Her face fell a bit, "Oh of course! I'm sorry. You should probably get back to it I guess..."

"Haha, I work at a bar! No one cares if I drink! Besides it's Tuesday and there's like 2 other people here. I was just joking with you! I'll be right back with the drinks." Her frown turned up into a smile, which he returned as he got up to go to the bar.

With a new glass of pink wine and a beer, he returned to the booth they were now sharing. She thanked him and they continued to talk. She told him she was a teacher at a middle school downtown, and was born in Oregon. He told her he was from Chicago and about his roommates. She mentioned her friend, Cece, who was also an Oregon native, but who now lived in LA and worked as a model. He remembered the woman Jess had been with a few days before,

"Oh Cece? Is that the tall brow...uh exotic? girl that you were here with the other night?"

"Yup. She's the one. Have you been stalking me?" She asked with lightness, that made it clear she was joking. Their conversation had felt very easy and he didn't recoil at the question like he usually would.

"Nah, I just notice beautiful woman when they come into the bar. Perk of the job, I guess. I don't normally talk a lot with them though." He was very obviously calling Jess beautiful, and she smiled. "Another perk is the free beer," he added with a laugh.

"Sounds like a good job then."

They were both smiling more than either had in weeks. Nick wanted to make some sort of move, ask her out or something. Just as he felt his courage rise within him, a jingle erupted from her purse.

"Oh! Sorry! Let me see who that is." She said, and started to fumble around inside her purse, looking for her phone. She found it and began to read a message, when she had gotten to the end he realized her smile was gone. She texted a reply back quickly.

"Everything ok?" He asked with genuine concern. She looked up at him and put her phone back into her bag.

"Kind of. Cece needs me to rescue her from some club."

His brow furrowed at the word rescue, "Do you need help?"

"No. Cece tends to go for guys who...uh...aren't the greatest. I guess she saw him kissing another girl or something. I just need to pick her up so she doesn't cause any bodily harm. She can get pretty mad."

Nick was glad Cece would be causing the harm, and not the guy she was with.

"Oh ok. Are you okay to drive?"

"Well...2 glasses of wine...in 3 hours...and the last one was about 30 minutes ago..." She seemed to be doing math in her head, "I should be fine." She stood to leave, and he got up with her. He still wanted to ask her out, but she seemed like she needed to go.

"Okay well, be careful and good luck with your friend."

"Thanks." She walked past him but turned back, "Hey. When are you working again?"

He turned around and answered, "Tomorrow night."

She smiled, "I'll see you tomorrow night then."

And with that she was walking away and out the door. He felt a wave of relief wash over him. "She's coming back. She's coming back to see me." He thought. He smiled and walked back behind the bar. For once he was glad he had crossed it,. He just hoped that in the end, he'd still feel the same way.

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**Please review! And Chapter 4 will be up sooner than this chapter was. A game of True American is coming up too! **


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